Juncker's most cringe-worthy kisses

Jean-Claude Juncker's many signs of affection

It would be better to tackle the big problems rather than restrict children in their creativity

MEP Markus Ferber, Member of the CSU

From now on pens can only be soled if they contain 2 milligrams of lead per kilogram of toy material, instead of the current 13.5 milligrams.

Lead levels in watercolours have also been reduced down to just 0.5 instead of 3.4 milligrams.

Those products outside of those limits will not be able to be sold in the EU, Bild said.

GETTY

The union tightened its restrictions over the limits of lead in children’s toys

GETTY

Pens can only be sold if they contain 2 milligrams of lead per kilogram

It is mainly light shades are affected by the changes, because they contain a lot of white pigments, but the Brussels bloc has decided to impose a blanket ban on all colouring sets - completely reducing the levels of lead that come into contact with children.

Even pencils and crayons sold in set will be affected- as if just one colour in the pack does not meet the lead limit the entire set can not be sold anymore.

The reduction comes following EU calculations which assumed a child eats 100 milligrams of the toy material every day - equal to munching on 18 pencils a year.

The European Commission has been contacted for comment.

Clarification

This article was amended on 21 March 2017. The article was originally headlined "EU CRAYON BAN: Brussels also rules watercolours and colouring pencils OFF LIMITS." We have been asked to clarify the EU is banning colouring pencils, crayons and water colours which contain trace amounts of lead because pens can now only contain 2 milligrams of lead per kilogram and in watercolours just 0.5 milligrams.